The NBC broadcasters initially assumed McIlroy simply made a mistake and broke the club on accident, but when McIlroy never made an attempt to replace the club, it became clear McIlroy broke the club out of anger.

According to rule 4.1a(2), “if a conforming club is damaged during a round or while play is stopped under Rule 5.7a, except in cases of abuse, the player may repair it or replace it with another club.” The “except in cases of abuse” applies here as McIlroy must have admitted to breaking the club in anger, thus thwarting his ability to replace it.

But before all of that, McIlroy still had to play in No. 9. His ball was sitting just barely above the stream on the right bank, meaning as a right-hander, he’d have to go in the creek to hit it.

He removed his shoes, rolled up his pant legs and stepped into the stream.

McIlroy went into the water without a club at first as caddie Harry Diamond stood at the ready to give his boss his weapon of choice. McIlroy had 137 yards up the hill and downwind, meaning stopping the ball on the shallow green would be difficult.

Eventually, Diamond handed McIlroy a club as the four-time major winner tried to find a footing within the running water. After roughly 65 seconds, he settled with his lead foot out of the water on a rock and his trail foot submerged.

Finally, McIlroy took a swing, mostly driven from the upper body and sent the ball flying. It came down right behind the pin, stunning the broadcasters. It finished 27 feet from the hole.

“How about that shot?”

“Really?”

“That had to be up in the air a long time.”

NBC’s cameras kept following McIlroy as he slipped his socks back on, but then walked up toward the green before putting his shoes back on.

A few minutes later, the broadcast returned to McIlroy as he stood on dry land, feet back in his Nikes, ready to hit the birdie putt.

It tracked right in the center, but stopped four inches short.

McIlroy collapsed in a sigh of frustration.

“The way a golfer thinks, he’s going to be mad he didn’t make birdie,” said Curt Byrum.

Jack Hirsh

Golf.com Editor

Jack Hirsh is an assistant editor at GOLF. A Pennsylvania native, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his high school golf team and recently returned to the program to serve as head coach. Jack also still *tries* to remain competitive in local amateurs. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a Multimedia Journalist/reporter, but also producing, anchoring and even presenting the weather. He can be reached at jack.hirsh@golf.com.